Hello, everyone! I know we don’t usually post interview on Friday, but we figured we’d try something different just to see how things go. We never really discuss the education side of the music business, but today that begins to change. If you’re an educator who is interested in talking about your adventures in music, please contact us using the information below.
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
We spend a lot of time talking about record labels, publicity, and the struggles of being an artist, but there is a lot more to the music business than those three things. Teaching, especially private lessons, is one of the most popular ways for people to get professionally involved with music. Not everyone can make this effort a full time job, but those who have developed proficiency in one or more instruments, including the ability to sing, can supplement a nice portion of their income by instructing others. The only problem is, many people who attempt to become teachers struggle with handling the administrative side of owning a business, which is where the person at the center of today’s feature found his niche.
Adam Zeuske is a web developer and lifelong music fan who has built a reputation for crafting high quality, state-of-the-art tools for various companies around the world. His latest project, Semplice Lessons, was inspired by his wife. She makes a living as a private music teacher, but as her business was beginning to develop she was having troubles staying on top of the various administrative duties that come with being your own boss, including booking, billing, and client communication. Adam realized that a lot these issues could be solved by streamlining the administrative side of his wife’s work, and that initial thought is what lead to Semplice Lessons being born. Now, with only a few clicks, music instructors around the world can access an administrative platform built specifically with their needs in mind. It’s efficient, time-saving, and impeccably well designed.
When we learned of Adam’s efforts, we knew we wanted to feature him on this blog. His work is not the kind of thing that often gets highlighted, but we feel it’s important to make people aware this technology exists. Also, it’s important for aspiring professionals to know roles like the one Adam has taken exist within the music business. Just because you love music doesn’t mean you have to be either a musician, label staffer, publicist, booking agent, talent manager, or journalist. There are hundreds, if not thousands of roles you can choose from, and those who think outside the box like Adam has with Semplice are generally the ones who become most successful later in life. He is just as inspiring as his work, and we’re thrilled to share his story with all of you today.
H: Hello, Adam. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. How is December treating you so far? I hear it can be harsh in Minnesota this time of year.
A: Thanks, James! It’s great to be able to talk with you today. Winter has been great this year. Minnesota can be harsh, but the crisp air, snow and the beautiful lakes more than make up for the chilly weather. If nothing else, it sure makes one appreciate the hot summer!
H: Your interview is kind of unique. We typically speak with people who are either writing about or working directly with musicians on a daily basis, if not musicians themselves. You, however, work with the people who make musicians, and by that I mean music instructors. Can you tell us a bit about your latest venture, Semplice Lessons?
A: I’d love to! Inspired by my wife and other music lesson instructors I know, I wanted to make a web site that would make the administration of a private lesson studio super easy. I saw how much time was spent on the administration of a studio, from managing a schedule, to communication, to the financial aspect of payment collection. Semplice Lessons was born from an idea that a simple, well organized website could free up a great deal of time for lesson instructors.
H: Music education is something we are very passionate about at Haulix. What initially attracted you to the world of education, and I guess perhaps more importantly – the world of online education?
A: Firsthand observation of people who actually run a private lesson studio, both music and other academic subjects (which is my background…math!) made me think I could apply my programming knowledge in a way that could directly impact the lives of people who make such a big difference in our students’ lives.
For example, I saw tons of time spent accounting for payment checks and cash, running to the bank to deposit payments, and authoring studio wide emails. I thought I could help out with the time consuming work that goes into running a private lesson studio. I had no idea how much time was spent just making sure checks were made out to the right name, or that checks were made out on time. And believe it or not, this doesn’t just solve instructors’ challenges. In talking with students’ parents, they were really pleased their child had a way of looking at their lesson schedule and those of their peers. Furthermore, lesson payments no longer required parents to write a check, or pull cash from an ATM before the lesson. They just signed up online with their credit card, a process they are already familiar with, and life becomes easier for them too. It sure is fun to watch the parents benefit from the website as well!
H: What does your platform offer educators that cannot be found through the tools already made available from your competitors? What does it offer students?
A: I think the main difference is the simplicity of its layout and ease-of-use, especially in the payment management segment. If the student’s parents or guardians have a credit card, and the instructor has a checking/savings account, Semplice allows the instructor to charge their students’ credit cards directly for payments. Those lesson fees then land in the instructor’s bank account! No third party payment vehicles…just credit cards and bank accounts, a process everyone is already familiar with, thanks to the proliferation of online shopping, banking, electronic music distribution, etc.
When an instructor creates a studio on Semplice, a public website is created for them. This allows students to sign in to the studio’s site, enter their credit card for payment information, request a lesson swap with another student, signify if they are going to potentially miss a lesson, view their schedule, or check out other neat studio communications and information!
H: How long ago did you launch this company?
A: Semplice Lessons was launched at the end of August, 2014. It has enjoyed an exciting beta period, and I am striving to make sure it suits the needs of all the students and lesson instructors.
H: I know it may be a bit early to talk longterm plans, but looking ahead to the new year can you tell us a few things we can expect from Semplice Lessons?
A: That’s a fun question! I can tell you about some of my plans, but the feedback from my customers will play a big part of what gets put on the plan for this year. The best part of having a company like this is learning how the website is _actually_ used compared to what my vision was or is. The creativity of this customer base never ceases to amaze me.
Mainly, I want to improve on the notification part of Semplice. Interesting things happen in a bunch of areas of site, both automatically and at the instructor’s request. I would like to increase the transparency of such events while keeping the site easy to use and informational at-a-glance.
H: As the creator of this company, I’m sure you have some goals Semplice over the next year as well. Care to share some of those?
A: Definitely! First, as I mentioned before, I would like to improve on the notifications so that an instructor or student can see the status of events that happen within Semplice, like email, payments, or scheduling changes.
Second, I am always looking to improve the layout of the existing site to better align it with the actual tasks an instructor or student performs on the site.
Finally, I want to make sure the site tells _me_ what is going on! Making a real difference in the lives of these instructors provides an enormous amount of satisfaction. When a support email comes across, I like to know that the technical infrastructure is in place to make a quick, accurate diagnosis and resolve any potential issues.
H: If someone reading this right now is interested in learning more about Semplice, or perhaps even desiring to sign up for your service, what should they do next?
A: I would say definitely head out to https://semplicelessons.com and peek at the features page! If that doesn’t answer any questions, definitely shoot us an email at features@semplicelessons.com or support@semplicelessons.com. We will do our best to respond promptly! Someone could also hit the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/semplicelessons.
If it looks like Semplice would solve tons (or even just some) of their lesson studio’s issues, or make things easier for them by freeing up time or automating some of those more difficult manual processes, they should start the process of creating an online studio by signing up! The first 30 days are free!
H: Thank you for taking time to speak with us today, Adam. I wish you the best of luck in the future. Do you have any final thoughts or comments that you would like to share with our readers?
A: Thank you so much, James, for the opportunity to share this new venture! I wish Haulix the best as well, as it succeeds in providing best-in-class security and promotional material and contact management!
My final thought is that I would encourage anyone who thinks this site would be beneficial to their studio, music or otherwise, to give it a shot or reach out to us at Semplice and ask questions! The more successful our instructors are, the better off they and our children will be, and that’s just a good thing!
